Sandusky, Ohio – Six Cedar Point roller coasters earned top honors in this year’s Golden Ticket Awards, an annual ranking of the industry by Amusement Today.
Two coasters were finalists in the Best New Roller Coaster category. Siren’s Curse, the park’s new tilt coaster, finished third; Top Thrill 2, the remake of record-breaker Top Thrill Dragster, finished fourth. Stardust Racers at the new Universal Epic Universe park in Florida and AlpenFury at Canada’s Wonderland in Toronto finished first and second.
Siren’s Curse also finished third in the Best New Theme Concept. The coaster, which debuted in June, features a Lake Erie theme, with mythical sirens luring riders to the top of the 160-foot-high first hill.
Amusement Today has held its annual Golden Ticket Awards since 1998, based on voting by hundreds of park visitors and industry experts.
Cedar Point’s large collection of steel coasters was also honored. The park had four rides on Amusement Today’s list of top 50 steel roller coasters, more than any other park. On the list: Steel Vengeance at No. 3, Millennium Force at No. 6, Maverick at No. 12 and Magnum XL-200 at No. 34. The top steel coaster, meanwhile, was Fury 325 at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kings Island near Cincinnati was recognized for having the second best kids area in the industry, as well as the fifth best guest experience. Kings Island’s collection of wood roller coasters earned honors as well, including the Beast (ranked third), Mystic Timbers (No. 6) and the Racer (No. 45).
Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer in Erie, Pa., was ranked the ninth best in the best wooden coaster category.
The Hive at Zoombezi Bay, the waterpark owned by the Columbus Zoo, was honored in the best new water park ride category, at No. 5.
For many years, Cedar Point was ranked as the top amusement park in the world by Amusement Today. In recent years, however, the Sandusky park has fallen completely out of top park ranking.
The top park in the world, according to Amusement Today voters, is Europa-Park in Germany; followed by Universal Epic Universe in Orlando; Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; Phantasialand in Germany; and Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.
Click here for the complete list of winners.
